Egypt orders release of jailed Qaeda chief's brother

An Egyptian court ordered on Tuesday the release of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri's brother, who is under investigation for calling for the creation of a "terrorist group," an official said.

Mohamed al-Zawahiri, 64, was arrested in August 2013, a month after the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and at the height of a crackdown against his supporters.

He and dozens of other defendants were accused of having formed "a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda" and plotting attacks on government installations, security forces and Egypt's Christian minority -- all charges which defence lawyers denied.